We live in a connected world where every type of travel experience seems to be available with a click of the mouse. We can watch live footage of erupting volcanoes, immediately learn about the discovery of new species and be inundated with photos on Facebook, Instagram and all sorts of other social media platforms.

So, why do we want to travel even more when we can so easily experience things from the comforts of our own homes? Why is it that the more places we visit, the longer our travel list grows?

For some there is the sense of escapism, or the need to re-charge. Perhaps we’re just being selfish by indulging our personal desires. Everyone has their own reasons, but I think ultimately it comes down to knowing that the world won’t always stay the way it is today.

 

As hard as we try to preserve and sustain our cultures and wildlife around the world, it simply isn’t possible to hang on to everything. Progress creates an equal amount of new opportunities. We may not be able to fly on the Concorde any more, but double beds and spas are now possible in flight.

For better, or worse, here are some recently extinct travel experiences that were possible as recently as last year, but sadly are no longer.

Seeing Lonesome George in the Galapagos Islands

June 24th, 2012 was the date that Lonesome George passed away. While there are many other giant tortoises in the Galapagos, George was the last of his kind. Years of research and even rewards to find a way to save his species couldn’t help. A sad reminder that the actions of our past still impact us today when it comes to wildlife conservation.

Filling up your Passport going through Europe

A couple of decades ago you’d have a healthily stamped passport while travelling across most parts of Europe. Nearly every border would require you to hand it over. Then the Schengen Agreement – promoting borderless travel – came in to place and has grown from a handful of countries to more than two dozen countries. Sure, you can still collect a few passport stamps, but they’ll more likely be optional, fun tourist stamps in places like Luxembourg and Liechtenstein instead of required stamps from border control guards. Not as exciting as it used to be – but much easier and faster for Europeans and tourists to get around!

 

Eating Zebra and other Wild Game at Carnivore Restaurant

Once reaching legendary status, the Carnivore restaurant in Kenya is now a much tamer BBQ experience. Wild game is illegal in Kenya now, meaning the most exotic things on the menu are ostrich, crocodile and ox balls. Not so exciting when I can get all of those here at home in Toronto. Still, any place with unlimited portions of these meats plus beef, chicken, pork and lamb is worth a visit to me.

Supersonic flights on the Concorde

As mentioned earlier, the way we travel in the air has changed. For the most part, we’re packed in like sardines, as air travel has become so commonplace. We expect to be able to hop over to a nearby country for a couple of hundred dollars whenever we want. If we crave luxury though, we can have double beds, spas and more on the new generation of airplanes. Ahh, but even the fancy new Boeing and Airbus planes don’t have the same allure as the supersonic, sleek Concordes which were officially retired in 2003.

Seeing the Great and Minor Buddha Statues of Bamiyan

Somewhat erroneously heralded as the largest Buddha statues in the world, they were destroyed in 2001. Their destruction was at the hands of the Taliban who destroyed as many idols as they could across Afghanistan. There are many larger Buddha statues in the world today, but most of them are made of bronze or are seated Buddhas. The real claim to fame for the Great Buddha at Bamiyan was that it was the largest carved, standing Buddha when it was destroyed.

 

Climbing to the Top of Egyptian and Mayan Pyramids

At Chichen Itza, the impressive El Castillo can no longer be climbed and authorities continue to place more areas off-limits to the public. At the same time, over in Egypt it is illegal to climb the great Pyramids. Why? Partially because climbing such pyramids is dangerous and partly because it can be damaging to the structures. With that said, disrespecting travellers spend outrageous amounts of money to bribe guards in Egypt for midnight climbs. My thought on that? If you do it, I hope you get caught. If you must climb some ancient ruins, the Mayan temples of Tikal offer up Temple IV (tallest) and Temple V (harder climb) for nice views of the jungle.

Being Disconnected

Is there anywhere left on earth where you are truly disconnected? People can send tweets from Antarctica, file reports from the Amazon or talk on cell phones in the middle of the Serengeti. Now, it’s been this way for a long time and we don’t all travel with satellite phones and fancy gear – but when was the last time you went somewhere and told people they would not be able to get in touch with you?

Cycling the World’s Most Dangerous Road in Bolivia

Known as ‘The Death Road’, and officially as North Yungas Road, this was once a journey reserved for only the craziest, death-wish travellers and backpackers. It is 60+ km of downhill excitement from the highlands near La Paz to the lush tropical-like setting of Coroico. The narrow, unpaved road and sheer cliffs have sent many buses, vehicles and cyclists falling to their death over the years. In 2006 things changed as a much safer bypass was finished, with railings, bridges and paved surfaces. Nearly all vehicles now use that bypass, instead of the world’s most dangerous road. Today, with very little traffic sharing the road with you, you can still definitely cycle down the perilous North Yungas Road, it just isn’t the same experience it was when it received the title of ‘World’s Most Dangerous Road’. But don’t worry, people do still occasional ride their bikes over the edge and die.

…and so much more

That is just a taste of what I could think of off the top of my head. I know I’ll also never have the chance to visit Czechoslovakia either, or East Germany – although I can thankfully still visit the places where those individual countries, among others, once existed. I probably won’t ever get to travel by blimp either. But, I may just be able to travel into space one day.

In recent years I’ve been Zorbing in New Zealand and saw penguins in Antarctica. Both of which being relatively new travel experiences. So, it’s not all bad news. Yes, there are things you and I will never have the chance to see or do during our lifetimes, but there are just as many new, exciting travel opportunities that didn’t exist a few decades ago, or even a few years ago.